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Mozilla - From Browser to Desktop Environment?

Posted by Cliff on from the gecko-promotion dept.

An anonymous reader asks: "A while ago OEone released a thingy called Penzilla which was basically a Mozilla desktop environment like GNOME or KDE. Everything was written in either DHTML or XUL and ran within the Gecko engine. Recently a new project, Robin was released that is basically a desktop running within Mozilla using XUL as well. There is NetWindows that attempts something similar for more interactive web applications. What advantages would a 100% Mozilla engine desktop hold and what are the disadvantages compared to much more complex environments such as GNOME or KDE? Is a Mozilla desktop possibly more elegant or efficient for the typical user? Is the XUL runtime environment more robust than troublesome C/C++ widgets? It seems like most applications could make the transition as the growing collection of Firebird extensions like ChatZilla and Gnusto and have shown."

4 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. Will never work... by Thng · · Score: 3, Funny
    No, it is missing a substantial feature for the end user: you can't right click on a box in minesweeper and have it flag it as a mine. Without a full-featured Minesweeper and Solitare application, this will be doomed to failure.

    However, it could possibly be saved by a talking paperclip, or maybe a talking gecko that doesn't complain about car insurance.

    1. Re:Will never work... by GeorgeH · · Score: 3, Funny

      Actually, there are Minesweeper and Solitaire clones for Mozilla, as well as plenty other games.

      --
      Why can't I moderate something "Wrong" or at least "Grossly Misinformed"?
  2. Mozilla by isorox · · Score: 4, Funny

    Mozilla - the new Emacs. Bloated, and lacking a decent text editor!

  3. soviet russia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    In Soviet Russia, the desktop... is integrated into... the browser... or something. Well it seemed funny when I started writing it. It's bacwards, you see? Oh never mind, just mod me down.